Coming up at City Council: September 8, 2025 meeting

St. Catharines City Council meets next on Monday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m., at City Hall in the Council Chambers (third floor). Residents can watch in person, or online via the City’s YouTube page.

On the Consent Agenda

There are several items on the consent agenda, a procedural tool that allows multiple agenda items to be passed with a single motion if Council is in agreement. City Councillors can also request an item be moved to the discussion agenda. Items listed on consent for Sept. 8, include:

• Veterans Crosswalk Design and Location: Council will be asked to support the installation of a new Veterans-themed crosswalk, honouring the men and women who served our country. The crosswalk, which features a design supported by local Royal Canadian Legion branches, is proposed to be located on the crosswalk at Church and James streets, which is where the annual Remembrance Day parade starts every Nov. 11 just outside of City Hall. Pending Council approval, thehe goal is to have the crosswalk installed before Remembrance Day 2025.
• Polish Legion Br. 418 Added to List for Donations Receipts: The City provides the service of accepting donations, issuing tax receipts, and transferring donation funds back to selects organizations and Committees recognized by Council in connection with various fundraising activities. Royal Canadian Legion Polish Veterans Branch 418 has asked to be added to the list of organizations / fundraising activities authorized for donation receipts.
• Filling of Committee Vacancy: Council will vote on a recommendation to appoint a new member to the City’s Accessibility Advisory Committee to fill a vacancy.
• St. Catharines Downtown Association Board of Directors Nomination: Council will vote on a recommendation to appoint a new member to the St. Catharines Downtown Association’s board of directors.
• Heritage Designation for 3 Elizabeth St.: Council will consider a request to designate the property at 3 Elizabeth St. under the Ontario Heritage Act. The property, which features a residence circa 1880, has been identified as meeting the threshold for designation under provincial heritage criteria and request for designation is supported by both the property owner and the City’s Heritage Advisory Committee. In addition to the value of its physical heritage attributes, the property is also directly associated with the Begy family, particularly Francis P. Begy Jr., an early civic leader, painter, merchant, and Fire Chief of St. Catharines in the late 19th Century.
• Heritage Designation for 142-153 St. Paul Cresc.: Council will consider a request to desginate the properties at 143-153 St. Paul Cresc, a well-preserved example of a late 19th-century commercial block, constructed between circa 1880 and 1887. The proposed designation, supported by the property owner and the City’s Heritage Advisory Committee, includes what is known as the Neptune Fire Hall, a rare surviving example of a Victorian-era fire hall in St. Catharines.

Public Meetings

One public meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday. Feedback from the community at large is welcome in person or electronically for public meetings. To speak virtually during a public meeting, you must submit a delegation request prior to 9 a.m. on Monday. In-person delegations are encouraged to submit a request in advance, but are not required to pre-register in order to speak at public meetings. Please visit stcatharines.ca/Council for information on how to access and participate in the meeting, and how to request and make a delegation before Council.

• Zoning By-law Amendment for 97 Hartzel Rd.: A public meeting will take place for a proposed five-storey, 30-unit apartment building at 97 Harzel Rd. While the current zoning already permits an apartment, a zoning bylaw amendment is being requested by the applicants to reduce the parking lot area, front and interior side-yard setbacks, landscape buffer size and the parking ration, in addition to a proposed increase in the maximum permitted building height. The site, located on the west side of Hartzel Road between Alexandra Boulevard and Burness Drive is currently vacant. City Council will discuss the staff report and make a decision on the application following the public meeting. See the public notice for more details.

Discussion Agenda

As of Friday there were no discussion reports listed on the agenda. Items intended for discussion are staff reports noted on the agenda and are considered one at a time. As noted, however, City Council members can pull an item from consent for discussion at the meeting.

Special Presentation

Garden City Skyway Twinning Project: City Council will have a special presentation from the provincial Ministry of Transportation, with an update on the Skyway bridge twinning project. The MTO, along with their design-build contractor, Skyway Bridging Partners, has begun preliminary work in and around the site of the future twinning. A website that will include questions and answers, updates, and more, has been launched by the contractor at qewgcs.ca.

Additional Motions Being Tabled

Councillors will consider several other motions, including a proposed change to the start time for the Sept. 22 and Oct. 5 meetings, to 5 p.m. The Sept. 22 change would be to accommodate a special shareholder meeting of the St. Catharines Municipal Development Corporation, while the Oct. 6 meeting would be to facilitate the annual meeting of St. Catharines Hydro Inc.

Council will also consider cancelling its Sept. 15 Council (Budget) meeting.

Closed Session

Items listed on closed session are portions of the meeting that are not open to the public. They are held during discussions on confidential or sensitive information, as permitted by specific exemptions outlined in the Municipal Act. Reasons permitted can also be found in the City’s by-law regulating the proceedings of Council (see Section H). Listed on the agenda are:

• Negotiations / Arbitration Award regarding St. Catharines Professional Fire Fighters’ Association Local 485 (labour relations or employee negotiations).

Additional Information

Find the entire agenda for the meeting here. You can also find information on Council meetings, including ways to participate or offer feedback, such as correspondence or delegations, on our website.

Miss the meeting and want to know what happened after? Council meetings are streamed live on YouTube, but can also be replayed afterwards - just visit www.stcatharines.ca/youtube to find the meeting. You can also register to receive the Garden City Current, our e-newsletter, which features recaps of Council meetings, City news and updates, and much more.

And don’t forget to stay connected – check out our social media channels and watch stcatharines.ca for ongoing updates from the City of St. Catharines.